Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Revokes Emergency Rule

HT Daily News Wrap

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa revokes emergency rule, US defence secretary says that it expects India to scale down its dependence on Russian military equipment, Fuel prices hiked once again by 80 paise a litre, the 14th price hike in the duration of 15 days, and other top news in this bulletin.

Good morning! Here are the top stories in your morning news bulletin.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa revoked emergency rule within days of imposing it as the escalating political crisis makes it tougher for Sri Lanka to agree a much-needed financial bailout from the International Monetary Fund. The proclamation that took effect April 1 is repealed as of midnight April 5, Rajapaksa said in an extraordinary gazette late Tuesday. Imposing Emergency had given Rajapaksa sweeping powers to detain protesters and seize property, but he also faced mounting calls from lawmakers to step down. Eleven parties within the ruling coalition said in parliament Tuesday that they would function as independent lawmakers and some members of Rajapaksa’s party will distance themselves from the government, putting a simple majority in the 225-seat legislature in doubt. An eroded cabinet following mass resignations — including the Finance Minister — limits his ability to negotiate with foreign bondholders a debt restructure that’s key for IMF support. US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday that it expects India to scale down its dependence on Russian military equipment, going forward. “We continue to work with them (India) to ensure that they understand that it’s not in their — we believe that — it’s not in their best interest to continue to invest in Russian equipment,” Austin told the members of the House Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing on the annual defence budget. “And our requirement going forward is that they downscale the types of equipment that they’re investing in and look to invest more in the types of things that will make us continue to be compatible,” Austin said. The comments came as the defence secretary was responding to a question of Congressman Joe Wilson, who criticised India’s position on Russia amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. “Gruesomely, our treasured ally India, the world’s largest democracy, is choosing to align itself with the Kremlin by choosing Russian weapons systems over American and allied options,” Wilson said. Fuel prices were hiked once again on Wednesday by 80 paise a litre, the 14th price hike in the duration of 15 days. Petrol and diesel prices have gone up by Rs 10 per litre each in the past 16 days, after a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision ended on March 22. Rates vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxation, with Mumbai having the highest fuel prices among the metro cities. In Delhi, petrol can be bought for  Rs 105.41 per litre, while diesel now costs  Rs  96.67 per litre, according to the notification by state-owned fuel retailers. In Mumbai, petrol and diesel prices per litre were listed at  Rs 120.51 per litre, increased by 84 paise, and  Rs 104.77 per litre, increased by 85 paise. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has said it is ‘closely monitoring’ the ongoing developments in Sri Lanka, where street protests have broken out against the ruling dispensation following the island nation’s worst economic crisis since its independence from the British rule, in 1948. “We are closely following developments in Sri Lanka where in the past few days authorities announced a state of emergency and other restrictions in response to mass protests against the country’s worst economic crisis in decades,” Liz Throssell, the spokesperson of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said in a press briefing on Tuesday. Noting that the situation has worsened over the past two weeks, Throssell also criticised Sri Lankan authorities for what she described as ‘excessive and unwarranted’ police action against peaceful protesters, as well measures such as declaration of state emergency, imposition of a 36-hour curfew and restricting access to social media. After allegations that a friend of Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi has been allowed to flee the country amid the ongoing political turmoil, a photo of the friend, Farah Khan, sitting on a flight has surfaced on social media and is going viral. According to claims, the handbag seen in the photo costs $90,000. According to a Geo News report, PML-N leader and former finance minister Miftah Ismail said Farah amassed a huge amount of money from the transfer of civil servants in Punjab. Reports said she reached Dubai on April 3, the very day Imran Khan dissolved the National Assembly and the no-trust motion brought by the opposition was dismissed by the speaker. Earlier, estranged PTI leader Aleem Khan alleged that Bushra Bibi’s aide fled the country as she feared that she would be arrested.

That’s all from us for now. We will be back with the evening news bulletin.